1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to medical devices for surgical training. More specifically, it relates to methods and apparatuses for modelling vaginal cuffs and simulating surgical procedures pertaining to vaginal cuffs.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Methods and apparatuses are known in the art for supporting vaginal cuffs, particularly after a hysterectomy and/or for the treatment or prevention of prolapse. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,636,643 to Kovac et al teaches a device for use in supporting posterior vaginal tissue in a patient without a uterus. The device includes implants that contact the patient's vaginal cuff and connect to the patient's sacral anatomy. Similarly, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0148640 teaches a device for treatment or prevention of vaginal prolapse. The device includes two (2) flat strips that connect the vaginal cuff to sacral anatomy.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0168784 discusses a device for occluding the vaginal cuff in order to prevent fluid from flowing through the vagina. The device includes a head portion that is inserted into the vagina and an expandable portion coupled to the head portion, where the expandable portion expands within the vagina, thus occluding the vaginal cuff and sealing off the vagina during a surgical procedure in order to prevent fluids from flowing past the expandable portion and the vaginal wall.
However, to perform complex post-hysterectomy surgical techniques, such as reattaching and/or cardinal ligaments to support the vaginal cuff and prevent vaginal vault prolapse, sufficient training is required, as many complications can arise. The foregoing disclosures, along with the conventional art as a whole, fail to provide a safe and effective manner of practicing post-hysterectomy surgical techniques, particularly when attempting to reattach the uterosacral and/or cardinal ligaments to support the vaginal cuff.
Accordingly, what is needed is an ex vivo surgical model or simulation for reattaching uterosacral and/or cardinal ligaments post-hysterectomy in order to support the vaginal cuff. However, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the field of this invention how the shortcomings of the prior art could be overcome.
All referenced publications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Furthermore, where a definition or use of a term in a reference, which is incorporated by reference herein, is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate disclosure of the invention. Applicants in no way disclaim these technical aspects, and it is contemplated that the claimed invention may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.
The present invention may address one or more of the problems and deficiencies of the prior art discussed above. However, it is contemplated that the invention may prove useful in addressing other problems and deficiencies in a number of technical areas. Therefore, the claimed invention should not necessarily be construed as limited to addressing any of the particular problems or deficiencies discussed herein.
In this specification, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.